The commodity fetish of pods
The main goal of the games is to be the district on top. Karl Marx's theory of digital labor is evident in Hunger Games. Katniss and Peeta have Haymitch as their mentor to guide them before the games. They have a training session to show off their skills as individuals and Katniss uses her archery skills to get their attention. Peeta uses his ability to lift heavy objects as his skill. The two become stand outs as they make up a story about falling in love and through their strong bond they gain those sponsors. Katniss is known as the girl on fire as she twirls flames surround the bottom of her dress. So the actual participants are working hard to get people to want to sponsor them. The two become a phenomenon from everyone watching the games.
Marx says that the commodity fetish is "therefore a mysterious thing, simply because in it the social character of men's labour appears to them as an objective character stamped upon the product of that labour" (Marx 2) The commodity fetish in the film are the pods, which contain things in them that can help the competitors. For example, in the movie Peeta gets injured pretty bad and Katniss who originally felt nothing romantically towards him, takes care of him in a cave. The sponsors are so interested in the two of them that they send a pod with a pain relief ointment for her to rub on him. The main goal of the games is to be the last team standing in this battle of death. While using their skills to fight they get by the most with the help of their sponsors. These pods are randomly dropped into the already controlled environment. The way this connects to Marx is that the more each of the characters present themselves and create a story to tell to their viewers the more help they get.